IND vs SL 2021: “Tackling spin has gone out of fashion” - VVS Laxman concerned over struggles of Team India’s young batters
Former Team India batsman VVS Laxman feels that the young batters’ failure to tackle spin effectively on slow pitches in Sri Lanka is definitely a matter of concern. According to Laxman, the youngsters seem to be focusing only on power-hitting. As a result, their lack of preparedness against quality spin was exposed in Sri Lanka.
After winning the ODI series, Team India went down 1-2 in the T20I series as most of their key players were unavailable after COVID-19 hit the visitors’ camp.
Writing in his column for the Times of India, Laxman stated about Team India’s batting performance:
“What this tour has done is highlighted how much work lies ahead of India’s young batsmen. Among the areas of concern are the inability to convert starts to big scores, and a marked decline in standards while playing quality spin on slow pitches.”
He further wrote:
"If anything, the latter has been a problem for a while now. Young batsmen focus so much on power-hitting and playing pace that tackling spin has gone out of fashion. To arrest this disturbing trend, it is incumbent upon coaches at the NCA and those with state teams to impress upon their wards the ingredients required to maneuver the ball by bringing soft hands into play, among other things."
Playing with only five batsmen, Team India scored 132 for 5 in the second T20I and 81 for 8 in the deciding game, losing both encounters.
Missed opportunity for Team India’s young batsmen: VVS Laxman
Laxman agreed that Team India had a tough task on hand after most of their key players were ruled out of the last two matches.
He still felt that it was a case of missed opportunities for the young batters in the team. The former cricketer explained in his column:
"From an Indian perspective, some of the young batsmen will rue the opportunities squandered. True, India were reduced to just five specialist batsmen once Krunal Pandya tested positive for Covid and consequently they lost nine players, and pitches for the last two T20s were far from ideal for the format. That said, adversity provides the best platform to exhibit character."
Laxman reserved special praise for young Team India leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, who picked up all three wickets to fall in the final T20I and gave the side something to cheer about. Laxman wrote:
"Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy had decent outings but the one who caught my eye was Rahul Chahar. The leggie was aggressive, attacking and penetrative, traits that should certainly bolster his chances for the T20 World Cup later in the year.”
The Team India squad, led by Shikhar Dhawan, returned home from Sri Lanka on Friday. However, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and K Gowtham, all of whom tested positive for COVID-19, stayed back in Sri Lanka, as did Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw. Yadav and Shaw will be flying to England for the Test series on special permission.